Returning Home
by Nik.EdwardIsLove
Summary: The day his daughter died, the day he killed her. He ran away. He couldn't face the people who loved her. He was responsible for her death. He only wishes that he could forgive himself. But he knows in his heart that he'll never. Returning Home…A Father's Plea for Forgiveness. Awarded Most Emotional At TwlightRPWritingContest.
1. Preface

**Returning Home**

_**A Father's Plea For Forgiveness**_

**Preface**

"_Dad-da!" she clapped giggling. _

_He froze. His angel had just uttered her first word; he couldn't believe it. He had always pampered his baby girl and looked after her as much as his wife did. And hearing her call him 'dad-da' was simply an amazing experience. She was Daddy's little girl through and through. _

"_Say it again baby girl!" he exclaimed. He was filled with joy. Lifting her up and holding in her arms he pleaded. "Please, please say it again...'Dad-da'? Please sweetheart…come-on you can do it!" he encouraged her. _

_She watched him with an amused expression, a cute little smile on her round baby face. _

"_Say it?" he begged. _

_She just continued staring at him, her wide chocolate brown eyes wide. She giggled and mumbled something in her baby language. _

"_Well, at least you told it once," he sighed still happy. "Momma is going to be so jealous you know? Sad that she missed it, but I'm going to tell her now," he picked up his cell to text his loving wife. She was out with his sister shopping, he would have called her but he knew his evil pixie sister would have confiscated her cell. _

"_Boo-boo," she tried to reach for his phone as he balanced her in his left hand. _

"_No, you're not supposed to trouble Daddy right?" he teased her finishing up the text and sending it. He put it out of her reach distracting her. _

"_Daddy loves you so very much," he tickled her belly. She giggled. _

"_Babogishihoo," she mumbled and laughed. _

"_Aw, you know I understand nothing," he told her still tickling her. _

_He put her down; he had to clean up the dishes. Making sure none of her toys were harmful and everything else was out of her reach he made her sit down and turned toward the kitchen. As much as he would love to play with his daughter, he had work to do._

"_Dad-da boo!" she exclaimed in a high pitched voice claiming his attention once more. It felt like she was asking him to stay with her._

_Forgetting his chores once more he held her in his arms again marveling the fact that she had called him dad-da again. At that moment, he knew he would do anything for his little girl. She was his world, and he loved her more than his life. _

"_I love you Renesmee…"he whispered hugging her close to his heart._

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm here with another new fan-fiction, this was quite a spontaneous idea, and I'm very much looking forward to your response. **

**I really really hope you like it, and please do review!**

***always nervous***

**Click the blue button below…and lemme know your thoughts! **


	2. Unbearable

**Chapter 1: Unbearable**

_There was blood everywhere. A little girl lay unconscious as a team of five doctors hovered over her. _

"_Her blood pressure is decreasing!" "There's internal bleeding."_

"_Breathing is inconsistent…" Do something. Please oh god. Don't let this happen. Please! I was beyond crazy. I needed a miracle. _

"…_we are losing her…"_

"I love you Daddy. Forever_." _

_Then the monitor beeped. And a straight line passed through the screen. _

"NO!" he woke up screaming; just as he did each night. The same _memory _haunted him, each and every night. He was sweating and tears rolled down his eyes. His hands clung to his head as he succumbed to his pain. He was a picture of agony.

"No….my daughter…" he cried.

He remembered everything about her; every moment was etched in his memory. He also remember how she died perfectly. Maybe if he could forget it would be easier? Six years had passed since that unfortunate day, and yet he remembered and felt as if it was yesterday. He didn't let go…he never could.

He got up went to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water without glancing at his face; it was hard for him to look in the mirror. He couldn't bear looking at his face. It just angered him and caused him immense pain and made those memories even real.

Instead of going back to sleep he grabbed a can of beer and landed on the couch putting on the news and staring at it blankly. It was just 4 am still, and he had three hours to kill to get ready and leave for work. After finishing the beer he went around trying to clean his apartment. It wasn't much, just a single bedroom apartment with a small living room and a kitchen cum dining room. Despite living well off for most of his life living in these conditions didn't bother him.

He changed into his tracks after cleaning up his dishes and gathered his laundry and headed to the laundry room. There wasn't anyone in the laundry room, and it wouldn't have made any difference even if someone was. He was no talker…and everybody knew that. Making sure everything was set right he headed out for his morning run. He just did it to kill sometime. And Seattle wasn't a quiet place like how his hometown was, it was a busy city and he found distractions. When he finished his run he returned to the laundry room, collected his clothes and headed to his apartment.

He took a shower and got ready in black trousers and a white shirt, putting on his blazer and shoes he headed out. His next stop was a small diner three blocks away where he had his breakfast each day-cheese grilled sandwich, salad and tea. Then he headed to work.

Work was monotonous, every morning he was given a set was documents which he had to assign and then send it to the rest of the employees with bigger jobs than him. He hated doing what he did, but he knew he couldn't go back to his old profession; he didn't have the guts to do it. The thought alone made him want to throw up.

Trying to concentrate on his work he worked in silence.

"Anthony!" he looked up reluctantly.

"Hello Tanya," he nodded stiffly and went back to his work.

"How was your weekend?" she asked brightly.

"The same," he muttered.

"Aw, you really need to do something fun," she stated.

"I don't mind," he muttered again.

"Yeah I know" she sighed.

"So, do you want to eat lunch together?" she asked cautiously.

He almost rolled his eyes. It was always the same with Tanya Denali, she spoke to him too brightly each day and went back dejected every time.

"Um, you carry on, I gotta finish this," he pointed toward a stack of already checked papers.

"Oh…okay, later." She still smiled and headed out.

He wished that she would quit asking him daily. Not even the wedding band on his ring finger made difference anymore. But they knew that he lived alone so maybe they had formed their own theories. Sighing he eyed his ring; he missed the woman whom he had promised forever. Stay with her through thick and thin and love her. Of course he still loved her and he never forgot her but he couldn't face her. He was afraid to face her even more than he was to face himself. She had trusted him to save their daughter and he had just broken it.

"_No…come-on! Respond baby!" he screamed._

"_Turn it higher!" he ordered. He sounded quite mad. He didn't get a response. _

"_Do it!" he cried. He was trying to shock her, try to get her heart beating again. _

"_Dr. Cullen…that's the limit."_

"_Edward…she's gone mate." A softer voice said. _

_Then it finally hit him, she was really gone. He would never hear her laughter, never give in to her wishes, never watch her grow up, never comfort her when she cries, never promise her that everything would be okay, never watch her graduate, never hear her say "I love you Daddy" ever again. Every possibility had just ended. She was _gone._ Really gone. _

"_Do you want me you to break the news?" someone asked him. _

_He just shook his head. He moved his fingers through her soft hair and kissed her on the forehead. _

_Numbly he walked out, where the rest of the family wait. All of them stood up and came up to him as soon as they saw him._

"_Edward…what happened?" her brown eyes wide with anxiety. She studied him for a second and saw the answer in his eyes. _

"_I-I..." he couldn't even tell her how sorry he was._

"_She's gone," he choked. _

_She just stared at him frozen. She looked so _dead._ He knew that it should scare him, but he felt nothing. Nothing at all. _

_He turned and walked away, never looked back, never heard the cries of his family. _

That was the last he saw of them. He had just left.

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm here again, with a new plot. Well, this is sort of like an experiment. I was watching TV and life has been boring for me, and this idea just rolled in my head and I knew if I didn't write it now I wouldn't ever.**

**I know it is hazy and maybe even a little confusing, but I really hope you liked it. **

**Please forgive me for any errors. Since I'm not a doctor or a pre-med and have very little idea about it I'm not going to be very specific on some parts. **

**This was a spontaneous idea just let me know your feedback and whether I should continue writing it. **

**So…yeah, review! *nervous and excited* **

**II**

**II**

**II**

**V**


	3. Inescapable

**Chapter 2: Inescapable**

What was he doing here? He shouldn't be here! He shouldn't try to face his memories when he was trying to run away from them. Once he had decided to come to Seattle, he had left his identity. He was no more Dr. Edward Cullen, he was Anthony Masen now just a random clerk who worked in an okay company making small money just enough for an average life. He had given up everything in his life…his wife, his family, his friends, his profession and just about everything that meant something. But what he really was trying to do was to get away from every single memory related to his daughter and his loss.

Then why was he _here_ of all the places? He had shunned anything like this in his new life. Why was he being so masochistic? Never once in the past six years had he encouraged anything like this and yet he was here sitting at the park few blocks away from his office where mothers relaxed keeping an eye on their kids s their children played. He just sat and watched them trying to ignore the pain in his heart.

More than two women had looked at him worriedly and kept their kids close to them and a shrewd eye on him. Of course they noticed him…who wouldn't? He was a strange man watching their kids with a dead look on his face to them. But he didn't notice that…he just watched the children enjoy themselves. So young and naïve and so much more beautiful and a blessing.

_It was a rare sunny day in the wettest city of Washington; he had a day-off. He was leaning against his Silver Volvo as four year old Renesmee sat on the hood of his car. _

"_Daddy how long?" she scowled. She looked so cute every time she made faces, he adored his baby girl._

"_Just another minute princess," he ruffled her hair. They were waiting for his wife and Renesmee's mother to take Renesmee to the park and enjoy the sun. _

_She sat there pouting, "I'm not talking to Momma." She stated. _

"_Momma has work to do baby girl, she's gonna be out really soon. Then we can have lots of fun." He picked her from the hood and held her in his arms._

"_Can we have ice cream? Please?" she pleaded. _

"_Only if you remain a good girl," he told her. _

"_Okay." She kissed him on the cheek._

"_Good," he kissed her back._

"_Do you also want ice cream?" she asked. _

"_Yes, daddy loves ice cream!" he told her. _

"_When I'm old, I'll open a ice cream shop!" she exclaimed. _

"_Really?" he asked playing along. He had heard lots of her to-be professions. And comparing the rest opening an ice cream parlor seemed sane and possible. _

"_Yes! And I'll give you free ice creams," she smiled. _

"_Aw…thank you princess," he chuckled. _

"_Daddy?" she asked._

"_Yes?" he was wondering what else she wanted. _

"_Lets buy ice cream for Nahuel also." _

"_Sure," he smiled and agreed. Nahuel was Renesmee's best friend and they were pretty inseparable. At this age he found them cute, maybe after they grow up he can start being territorial. _

"_Okay!" he hugged him and lay her head on the crook of his neck. _

"_Alright! Here's momma!" he exclaimed after a while as his beautiful wife walked towards them. _

"_Momma! Let's go!" Renesmee screamed excitedly. _

_They were at the park, unsurprisingly it was pretty crowed, almost everyone was here but the kids area was mostly empty. _

_Once Renesmee's fascination with the slides was over, she moved onto the swings. _

"_More!" Renesmee commanded ordering him to push her higher._

"_Edward careful!" Bella warned him. _

"_She's gonna be fine," he told Bella. _

_Bella sighed, the possibility of getting her daughter hurt was making her anxious and he knew that but Renesmee was having so much fun. _

"_Okay princess…now enough with the swings…lets go get an ice-cream!" he said after slowing down the swing. _

"_Ice-cream!" she giggled. He was good at distractions; Bella smiled and held her daughter's hand as they walked toward the car. _

_Edward drove them to the ice cream parlor, Renesmee remained excited the whole way singing out the rhymes they had taught her. When they reached the ice cream parlor, Bella took a vanilla with Choco-chip ice cream, Edward chose chocolate and Renesmee wanted a strawberry cone with sprinkles. It was her favorite. _

"_Momma, Daddy! I love you!" she had given both of them very sticky kisses. _

He woke up from the trance as if electrocuted, he was breathing heavily and his eyes held moisture. Without another glance at the kids' area, he just walked out of the park hurriedly.

Six years had passed since that day but he had learned to remain static, but for the first time he was visiting those old happy memories and he had no idea why. Instead of heading back to his apartment he went to the local bar. He didn't want to _think _anymore. This sudden attack had drained him emotionally and he was exhausted. His head ached like hell and his mind was not at its best at the moment.

He drank and continued drinking until he could see two of everything, he ordered for another bottle and headed out into the cold city. For once his thoughts were dissembled and yet he felt at peace. He continued to walk toward where he thought was his apartment. Then he collided with someone.

"Sorry," his words slurred.

The collision was all it took, before he could walk another step he collapsed. Before he blacked out completely, he saw a familiar face from the past.

"_Edward?"_ was the last thing he heard. It felt like a distant echo from the past.

**A/N: Firstly, I want to thank you all for such an amazing feedback! It really means a lot. *hugs***

**Secondly, I'm really hoping that you enjoyed this chapter immensely. Most of this story is going to have both past and present references. **

**So, any guess on who found Edward? **

**And…predictions on this story?**

**I would love to know all your thoughts…so please review? For Edward?**


	4. Nonexistent

**A/N: Only one person guessed the answer to my question at the end of previous chapter…and its…Kgunter34**

**Thanks for everyone who reviewed and added this to their story alerts and favorites. Have fun reading it. *smiles***

**Chapter 3: Non-existent **

"_Her blood pressure is decreasing!" "There's internal bleeding."_

"_Breathing is inconsistent…" _

"…_we are losing her…"_

"I love you Daddy. Forever_." _

_Then the monitor beeped. And a straight line passed through the screen. _

He shot up straight sweating and gasping as usual. "No…no…" he kept mumbling to himself.

"Whoa! Calm down!" another voice said handing him a glass of water.

A strong well built man with honey blond hair and earnest brown eyes sat before him looking worried.

"Jasper?" His head ached like hell and he had no idea what Jasper, his brother-in-law was doing in his home or was he _imagining _again? But why Jasper of all the people?

He looked around the place and realized that this wasn't really his apartment; it looked like some hotel room. Very lavish. Another part of his old life.

He was still working out, trying to remember how he had landed himself here. Then he realized that he was in the park, memories had attacked him and then he had decided to get drunk. Right, but after that everything was just a huge blur. He just remembered the cold night air that hit him when he left the bar. Yep. That's pretty much it.

Jasper seemed to be watching him still with both worry and uncertainty in his eyes. He still held the glass of water in his hand extended.

"Hello Edward," Jasper finally uttered.

Edward just stared at him, then nodded and took the water and gulped it all down at once. What had he landed himself into? He should have just gone back to his apartment and gotten drunk_ there!_

"Look, I gotta go." Edward grabbed his jacket and turned toward the door. "And, um thanks."

"Are you _joking?_" Jasper looked just plain angry.

"I can't stay…I have to go."

"Edward…it has been six _years_. And you just want to leave?"

"I have to." Edward said stubbornly. He didn't want to get into this conversation, not now or ever. He didn't want to meet anyone from his family or rather anyone from his old life. What he had here for himself was fine. He was not happy, every day was just hell and he just wished that god would take mercy on him and drop him dead. But he deserved all this, and he wanted to pay for this ultimate sin.

"It's not your fault Edward…you tried everything."

"Goodbye Jasper," Edward said his hand on the door knob.

"If you think you're just going to get away without an explanation you have just lost your mind!" Jasper said stopping him. "Please Edward…we have been best friends. You're family to me, a brother. Please."

Edward didn't know what it was, but something in Jasper's tone made him stop.

"Let's just have breakfast together and talk? For old time's sake," Jasper suggested.

"Fine." Edward agreed ignoring the voice which said it was a wrong idea instead holding onto some kind of hope?

Fifteen minutes later Edward and Jasper were seated in a diner just around the block waiting for their respective breakfasts. Jasper was currently on the phone assuring someone that he would be back soon.

"Alice?" Edward asked with a little smile after Jasper finally hung up.

"Yeah," Jasper chuckled once. From what he could guess he was sure Jasper hadn't told anyone else that he had met him. Or else instead of Jasper he would have woken up to Alice's excitement.

"How's she?" Edward asked, he missed his little sister immensely.

"She's uh…fine." Jasper replied evasively.

"Carlisle and Esme? Emmett and Rose?" though he had cut his ties with his family he wanted to talk about them. Surprisingly it didn't hurt much.

"Everyone's the same." Jasper was still using the same tone. "Actually, Emmett and Rose have a kid now. His three years old, Max."

"Wow, that's great." Edward nodded feeling a little pang. It was hard for him to talk about kids. He remained silent after that.

"You won't ask about Bella?"

"How's she?" he hadn't asked about Bella on purpose, for some reason he didn't want to know. He just hoped that she was well. Happy even. He didn't want to know that she blamed him for breaking her family.

"Bella's _different._" Edward didn't miss the emphasis on different.

"Uh…"

"Here's your order," the waitress placed their food in front of them.

"She misses you…she doesn't say the words but she does. Anyone can tell."

"I miss her too."

"Why don't you come back then? From the drunken Edward I saw yesterday I'm sure life's not a joy ride here."

"Its not."

"Just come back Edward, we can help ourselves." There was pity in Jasper's eyes. But Edward wasn't angry, he felt hopeless.

"I can't okay? I just can't!"

"Nobody blames you Ed," Jasper said calmly.

"_Nobody does? Maybe it's true…but I blame myself._"

"Come-on Edward! Just stop being _stupid_ for gods sake! Nobody has been the same alright? After Nessie's death, after _you_ left us everyone just changed. Carlisle and Esme miss their son, Alice is just not the same she was, Emmett's changed too and Bella! Don't get me even started on her. She's just given up! She behaves abnormally! It's like a dead person trying to _it. _It just hurts to watch her. You know whom she needed the most? You! And guess what you did? You just bailed. On her and on everybody.

And when there's a chance to make things better you just don't want to take it! That's not you Edward! Your family needs you and you clearly need them, so stop blaming yourself and just return!"

"You don't understand! I _killed_ my own daughter. I watched her while she breathed her last, and I can never get her back! I can't just go back to living and pretending she never even existed!"

"I'm not asking you to do that, I'm just asking you to be there for your family. And _live_ with her happy memories. Do her justice…she must feel terrible to know that every time her father thinks of her he's in pain and just want to get away from them. I'm sure she doesn't want that."

To this Edward had no answer. Jasper was right of course, he wasn't there for his family and every memory of Renesmee caused him pain. That wasn't right at all. Instead of keeping her memories alive, he was trying to get away from them. Realization hit him like a wild storm.

They ate the rest of their breakfast silently, Edward lost in his thoughts and Jasper hoping to have put some sense into him. Luckily Edward had stayed and heard him instead of just walking away, but he had always had this effect on people.

"You aren't going to tell anyone you met me here right?" Edward asked as they finished up.

After few moments Jasper said, "I wouldn't want to give them false hope."

"What do you mean?"

"Goodbye Edward, I _hope_ I see you again." Jasper hugged him and then they parted ways.

On the way back, Edward kept wondering about Jasper had said.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I didn't make it lousy.**

**So, what are your thoughts? Think Edward's gonna return home? *winks***

**This is the only story of mine which I haven't planned through and mapped out before writing…I have no idea where its gonna take Edward…they something about characters writing for themselves. But I can say this for sure…edward is a long way from healing. **

**Anyway…ready to review? *cutey pout***


	5. Unreal

**Chapter 4: Unreal**

There were a lot of things going on in Edward's mind. Throughout the day he kept thinking about what Jasper had told and hard though he tried he couldn't stop. Something was nagging him and he wasn't sure what it was. He found himself thinking of Forks and his family more than he had in six years.

For the first time in many days he wasn't being haunted by his daughter's memories.

_Haunted…such a sad word to describe his daughter's memories_, he thought. And it was true. He bet no father cringed from the happy memories which he remembered from his old life. He _should _be living with them and treasuring them. Jasper was right…in a way at least. What had he done?

Taking his usual sleeping pills which literally had no effect on his nightmares he went to sleep. Again the word nightmares referring to his daughter's memories stung him.

_Everything was perfectly set up at the backyard of their house. The whole of Forks was going to attend this wedding. The decorations, the seating arrangement and the theme had been planned by his sister Alice and mom Esme. Esme did this professionally and Alice was just an unstoppable force when it came to any occasion. If anybody was happier than the bride and the bridegroom, it was Alice! _

_Edward hadn't been allowed to see Bella the whole day, they were going to get married in the evening and the reception would go on till nighttime. Both his sisters hadn't allowed even glance at Bella, they said it was bad luck to see the bride before at the altar. He gave in. he didn't have the strength to argue with _both_ Rosalie and Alice. _

_Time passed very slowly but finally he it was just an hour before the wedding; Alice came in to see him and was horrified to see him in his tracks and forced him to get ready. After setting up his hair she left him. He went and joined his brothers and father as the guests started arriving._

_Time started passing much sooner and he found himself waiting at the altar to see Bella for the first time today. _

_As soon as he saw her, his heart beat sped and he found himself smiling widely ready to make this woman his wife and love her forever. She looked around blushing as usual looking even more beautiful. Then her eyes met his, both of their faces mirroring their happiness. They were meant to be…that was obvious to anyone who saw. _

_As soon as she reached him, she gave her father a peck on his cheek and then he placed her hand in his. _

_The priest started reading their vows and they recited after him. _

"_..to love..."_

"…_to cherish..."_

"…_for better..."_

"…_for worse…"_

"…_in happiness…"_

"…_and sorrow…"_

"…_I do…" "…I do…"_

His eyes opened as he tried to understand what he had just dreamt of. It was almost a shock that he hadn't dreamt of his daughter's death. He realized he wasn't crying but instead a warm feeling spread across his chest and a smile on his usually stoic face. That had been one of the best days of his life. And how much he loved Bella! He sat up on his bed and removed his wedding band and eyed it for an extremely long time thinking…just thinking of Bella and the happiness on her face. 'Forever' was engraved on it. it felt so absolute.

The words, "for better…for worse…in happiness and sorrow..." kept running through his mind. He put his wedding band back on his finger and suddenly jumped up and went to his wardrobe. Taking a duffel he thrust his clothes in a haphazard manner.

It was five in the morning; with a single minded goal he ordered a taxi and headed to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready. Within twenty minutes he was ready in a plain shirt and faded jeans. Collecting all the money he had, he put on his jacket and headed out to the taxi waiting for him.

He was quiet the whole drive; infact he was feeling quite calm and not at all tensed. Actually, it wasn't calm. He wasn't feeling anything at all. At the moment he was void of any emotion. There was a little worry at the back of his mind but that didn't matter now. He had decided what he was going to do and he was determined to stick by it.

The first real emotion he was when he saw a green board with huge words on it saying, "Welcome to Forks."

Then it hit him. All together. An overwhelming emotion making it hard for him to breathe evenly. He realized, that this was the first time since he left that he felt strangely at peace.

He was home. Finally.

**A/N: Edward decided to listen to Jasper finally. I know the chapters are short this one is especially short but I don't plan on writing longer ones.**

**So what's your take on it? How do u think Edward's family should react? And Bella? **

**Leave me your thoughts people. **


	6. Irresponsible

**Chapter 5: Irresponsible**

Edward didn't know what to do now that he was here. He knew his father would be working at the Forks Hospital at this time of the day but he didn't have the strength to walk into that place. He wanted to see Bella but he wasn't sure whether he should, not yet anyway. He decided to meet his mother first and hoped desperately that she was alone at home. After paying the taxi driver he walked toward his parents' home. It looked the same as it had six years ago. Feeling quite numb he walked up to the porch, he could hear dull voices through the door. He knocked on the door thrice. He counted the seconds as he stared at the door fixedly.

Ten seconds passed as nobody came up to the door, he was about to turn back and return when he heard the door creak open.

His mother stood in front of him looking older than he remembered, but beautiful all the same. Her eyes widened as she registered him, and she mumbled, "I'll call you back," into the phone.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she began to cry, Edward hated to see her in pain.

"Mom," he choked, he realized that he was crying too. She hugged him holding him tighter and he hugged her back, both of them crying. The mother and son duo stood that way until they heard a soft voice.

"Grandma?"

A little boy stood behind Edward's mother, his eyes widened with worry when he noticed that she was crying and looked up defensively at Edward.

"Why you cwying?" he asked her innocently. "Don't cwy," he mumbled and hugged her leg.

"Oh honey!" Esme picked up the little boy and hugged him. Edward stood there watching waiting for the pain to hit him…it usually did when he saw little children, but it never came. He was probably numb still. Feeling relieved he watched as Esme comforted the boy. His curly brown black hair reminded him of his brother Emmett. So this was Max. His nephew.

"Hello Max," Edward said holding out his hand. "I'm Edward, your uncle." His mother looked a little surprised that he knew about Max but didn't question him.

He looked at Edward and then at Esme, when she gave him an encouraging smile he looked back at Edward and said, "Unca?"

"Yeah. Uncle," Edward smiled. It felt different to talk to a kid; he had forgotten how much fun it was. They were so naive and trusting.

"Me Max." he mumbled shyly and after another encouraging look from Esme he held Edward's arm.

"Nice meeting you Max," Edward smiled trying to not make it depressing.

"Come on in Edward," Esme said softly, not meeting his eyes and eyeing his duffel; it didn't exactly stand for permanent stay. Hell, he wasn't even sure how long he was staying here let alone thinking of making it permanent. He felt bad for putting his mother through so much of pain.

"Why don't you continue playing sweetheart? I'll fix some food for you," Esme said putting Max down.

"Wokay," Max nodded and with one look at Edward ran into the familiar hall. Edward followed Esme into the kitchen. She placed a chicken sandwich and some salad in front of him.

"Mom, I'm not hungry." Edward lied. He was actually ravenous, but didn't feel like admitting it.

"Just eat Edward," she said placing a long tray in the oven. Without another word Edward dove it, it was absolutely delicious! His mother was the best cook he had known and she made even the simplest of things feel like heaven. He had missed this…a lot.

After a while he realized that Esme was watching him with a sad smile. "Where have you been honey?" she asked, her eyes watering again. "You look…messed up." she said softly.

"Mom…" Edward reached out for her hand.

"It's been so hard on all of us! It wasn't just my granddaughter who left us that night, my son abandoned us too."

"I'm sorry," Edward said looking down. To his own ears it fell flat.

"It's not your fault Edward," she repeated the same thing that Jasper had. He didn't reply, to him it _was_ his fault!

"I'm glad your back," Esme hugged him once again. But there was a question mark hanging at the end of that sentence, but Esme didn't voice her thoughts. Neither did Edward. She wanted to believe that he was here with them permanently and Edward didn't know the answer to it.

Esme and Edward sat together on the couch watching Max color on the floor; though he was home Edward still was feeling very uneasy. He was of course happy to see his mother but he also thought that he had acted very rashly and should have stayed where he had been. Meeting Jasper and the dream about Bella had just acted as a catalyst. His thoughts stopped on Bella, Esme had updated him on everyone in the family except Bella. He had wanted to know about her but had been hesitant to ask. Now that he thought about her, he wanted to see her. She had been the real reason why he came here.

"Mom I want to-" he was cut short by his sister Alice entering the living room. She was carrying a colored bag to huge for her arms and placed in on the floor next to the couch.

"I have ordered those antics Mum, and asked Howard to transport them and they will reach-" she froze when she saw him. Edward stood up feeling nervous. Alice was almost two heads shorter than him but by the look she gave him he cowered. She was glaring at him like she could kill. And he was absolutely terrified.

"What are you doing here!" she screeched. Through his peripheral vision he saw Esme picking up a very surprised Max in her arms and exiting the room.

"Hi." He simply mumbled.

Alice was fuming. "How dare you?" she screamed. "How dare you!" and she started hitting him.

"Ugh! Do you know how hard it has been on us?" she said shrilly pounding his chest.

"I'm sorry!" Edward exclaimed. It still felt like a lie.

"Sorry? _You _are sorry? YOU CANT JUST GET AWAY WITH A LAME SORRY ALRIGHT?" she screamed at the top of her lungs. He didn't know whether they were angry tears or sad tears or a mixture of both but his sister was crying too.

"Alice…" he said softly and tried to hug her.

"_Don't touch me! I hate you_!" she pushed him off. Still he pulled her into a hug and held her as she cried ignoring that she was struggling to get away.

"Let go Edward!" she warned him crying still.

"Shut up squirt," he said using the nickname he had for her when they were kids.

"You are such a_ jerk_!" she exclaimed.

Finally he let go, he couldn't ask everyone their forgiveness just by hugging them and saying sorry. His mother had spoken to him in a calm manner and Alice had simply been wild, but he knew that both of them needed an explanation. And neither of them forgave him for what he had done…not for killing his daughter but just abandoning them.

He sighed. If just two of his family members were being so hard, he didn't know how hard Bella was going to be. But she was Bella…she had always been different. So he knew that he was going to be surprised. He was so nervous…and scared at the same time. He didn't know what to expect from her; infact he didn't know what to expect from himself either. He just knew that he needed some time to prepare before he saw her…he wasn't sure whether his family would let him see her though. Alice's reaction alone was a sign. But she was his _wife_ after all…again he wasn't sure.

Just then he heard an audible gasp, Bella stood there looking shocked. So much for him wanting to prepare himself. Then her expression changed, she looked like her worst nightmare had come true. She was in _agony_.

Feeling cold and extremely numb Edward watched her and then his eyes slid down to the young boy with russet skin and black hair whose hand Bella was holding. His heart stopped…literally.

**A/N: Uh oh…sorry for the cliff hanger! What do you think of it? And who's the boy? *guess?* **

**Hope you liked the chapter. **

**Lemme know.**

**Please review. **


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